Friday, March 31, 2017

A few years ago, a group of property owners in downtown Columbus realized they had a problem: They were running out of room for car commuters. There wasn’t enough parking to accommodate more.

Rather than lobby elected officials to spend millions on parking decks, they came at the problem from a different angle — making transit more appealing.

For the last year and a half, Columbus’s Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District — which has property taxing authority downtown — has been piloting a free transit pass program for 844 downtown workers. It made an impact: The share of workers in the program who commute via transit increased from 6 percent to 12 percent.

Now the Special Improvement District wants to expand the program to all 40,000 workers downtown, reports Kimball Perry at the Columbus Dispatch:

Half of the $5 million cost to provide the passes for more than 2½ years would come from 550 owners of properties in the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District, who would pay 3 cents per square foot of space per year, said Cleve Ricksecker, executive director of the district. Capital Crossroads would seek grantsfrom foundations and others to pay the rest of the cost.

Thursday, March 30, 2017

When it entered the 21st century, Tucson was the bike-commuting capital of the United States.

Flat, dry and cool in the mornings and evenings, Arizona's second-largest city has always had a good environment for bike transportation. So after the city started striping bike lanes and installing bike-and-foot-friendly crossings of major streets in the 1980s and 1990s, bike commuting jumped to what was then a very unusual 3 percent of the working population in time for the 2000 Census.

Then other cities, noticing Tucson's success at boosting biking, started improving their own infrastructure — and left Tucson in the dust.

"We've been fortunate that decades ago the city and the region really committed to adding some bicycle infrastructure, so the arterial and collector streets have almost a full bike lane network," said Ann Chanecka, program coordinator for the city's bicycle and pedestrian program. "[But] really until about five years ago, we kept adding bike lanes on busy roads and expecting ridership was going to go up, and we really plateaued at some point. So many people working in Tucson started to look at, OK, so there's a reason people aren't biking on a street that has traffic moving 45 mph and has a five-foot bike lane."

Now, Tucson is working to make up for lost time by joining off-street paths, protected bike lanes and bike boulevards into a network of truly comfortable bike routes: ones that feel good on the street rather than just looking good on a map.

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Biking home along the Capital Crescent Trail one day last fall, I came upon a stream of yellow police tape encircling the Little Falls Parkway crossing.

For bike commuters, cars and their drivers are the ever-present threat. Yellow tape means the worst. The victim that day was Ned Gaylin, a retired University of Maryland professor, killed when one car driver stopped to let him pass but another motorist did not.

I slowly navigated around the tape, telling police along the way that none should be surprised. The intersection was clearly unsafe, as I’d told Montgomery County officials many times, largely because of a design that needlessly gave cars two lanes in each direction.

Route 711 will be widened to relieve congestion in Powhatan and Chesterfield counties

A contract totaling $11.7 million was awarded to E.J. Wade Construction, LLC of Mechanicsville to widen and improve Route 711 at the Route 288 interchange in VDOT’s Richmond District.

Improvements will include taking Route 711 from two to four lanes for a 1.14-mile stretch at the Route 288 interchange on the Powhatan/Chesterfield county line, and replacing the bridge over Bernard’s Creek. Bike lanes and sidewalks will also be added.

The project is expected to be complete by June 2019.

Structurally deficient bridges on Interstate 395 will be repaired

A $5.5 million contract was awarded to Martins Construction Corp. of Falls Church to repair structurally deficient* bridges spanning Four Mile Run on I-395 in VDOT’s Northern Virginia District.

The project will include reconstructing deck joints, replacement of bearings, repainting the steel superstructure, and repair of concrete and foundation of the bridges, which were constructed in 1970.

The project is expected to be complete in November 2018.

* A bridge that has been deemed structurally deficient does not imply that it’s likely to collapse or is unsafe. But there are elements of the bridge that need to be monitored and/or repaired.

Pavement restoration will be completed on Interstate 85 in the Richmond District

Two contracts have been awarded for work on I-85 in Brunswick, Mecklenburg and Dinwiddie counties.

A contract in the amount of $7.9 million was awarded to Allen Myers VA, Inc. to restore pavement for a 24 mile stretch from the North Carolina state line to the Meherrin River Bridge.

A $7.3 million contract for pavement restoration was awarded to Adams Construction Company of Roanoke. The work will be done from about a mile north of Route 40 to just south of Route 1.

For both projects, restoration will include pavement repair, installing new drains and guardrail replacement.

Pavement maintenance is planned in the Northern Virginia, Bristol and Culpeper districts

In the Northern Virginia District, two contracts totaling $14.1 million were awarded to Superior Paving Corporation of Gainesville, for paving in Fairfax County.

A $5.2 million contract was awarded to Virginia Paving Co., a division of The Lane Construction Corp., of Cheshire, Conn. for paving in Fairfax County.

A $6.2 million contract was awarded to Arthur Construction Co. Inc., of Dulles for paving in Fairfax County.

A $7.1 million contract was awarded to Virginia Paving Co., a division of The Lane Construction Corp., of Cheshire, Conn. for paving in Arlington County.

A $6.5 million contract was awarded to W-L Construction & Paving, Inc. of Chilhowie for paving in Buchanan County in VDOT’s Bristol District.

A contract in the amount of $5.3 million was awarded to Superior Paving Corporation of Gainesville for paving in Rappahannock County in VDOT’s Culpeper District.

The following chart tracks the dollar amount of major contracts the CTB has awarded in calendar year 2017:

In advance of each CTB meeting, VDOT Commissioner Charles Kilpatrick also approves contracts up to $5 million in value. From the February 22, 2017 bid letting, the commissioner approved 61 contracts worth an approximate total of $111 million for construction and maintenance projects on Virginia’s interstates and primary and secondary roads.

Appointed by the governor, the 17-member CTB establishes the administrative policies for Virginia's transportation system. The CTB allocates highway funding to specific projects, locates routes and provides funding for airports, seaports and public transportation. The board normally meets on the third Wednesday of the month in months when action meetings are scheduled.

Monday, March 27, 2017

RICHMOND − The public is invited to share comments on transportation projects that have been scored and recommended for funding through Virginia’s data-driven, prioritization process. This process was used to score over 400 transportation projects proposed by localities and regional planning bodies across the state. The scoring is a key part of a law, referred to as SMART SCALE, to facilitate investment of limited tax dollars in the right transportation projects. The public is also invited to share comments on other non-SMART SCALE projects as well as new projects valued in excess of $25 million.

Following the public meetings listed below, public comments will be considered by the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) as it develops the FY 2018-2023 Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP). The SYIP allocates public funds to highway, road, bridge, rail, bicycle, pedestrian and public transportation projects. The CTB will select the final list of scored as well as approved projects to be included in the SYIP. All federally eligible projects in the six-year improvement program will be included in the federally required Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) to document how Virginia will obligate its federal funds.

The meetings begin at 5:30 p.m. in each of the locations except as noted below (a formal comment period will be held at each meeting):

Law requires projects to be scored based on how they ease congestion; improve economic development, accessibility to jobs, safety and environmental quality; and, support transportation-efficient land use. Projects in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads score higher if they reduce congestion. Projects in other parts of the state score higher if they increase economic development, or improve safety. The Commonwealth held numerous sessions with localities to incorporate their input in developing the scoring system.

Projects meet scoring requirements if they are eligible for funding under the High Priority Projects Program and the District Grant Program. In addition, projects must demonstrate that they meet a need identified in the Commonwealth’s long-range plan, VTrans2040, which examines Corridors of Statewide Significance, regional networks and improvements to promote urban development areas. The CTB must consider highway, transit, rail, road operational improvements and transportation demand projects, including vanpooling and ridesharing.

Projects funded with federal safety dollars, and projects that rehabilitate aging pavements and bridges are exempted from scoring.

Once projects are scored and public input is received, the CTB will select projects to be funded and included in the six-year improvement program by July 1, 2017.

Friday, March 24, 2017

The City of Boston wants residents to walk, bike, or take transit. But somehow, the parking-industrial complex still gets its demands addressed first.

This past week, Mayor Martin J. Walsh launched Go Boston 2030, an ambitious new transportation plan that, among other things, calls for an overhaul of all bus routes, a citywide “green links network” of bike and walking paths, and various “complete streets” projects to retrofit major thoroughfares for use by pedestrians and cyclists, not just drivers. The plan is a tour de force of 21st-century thinking about urban transport — and offers a realistic strategy to move more people faster through Boston’s quirky old neighborhoods.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

According to a certain perspective that seems to hold sway among local newspaper columnists, bicyclists are reckless daredevils who flout the road rules that everyone else faithfully upholds. But the results of a massive survey published in the Journal of Transport and Land Use point to a different conclusion — everyone breaks traffic laws, and there’s nothing extraordinary about how people behave on bikes.

Researcher Wesley Marshall and his team surveyed 18,000 people online about their compliance with traffic laws when they are driving, biking, or walking. Most respondents — 14,000 — were based in the United States, with the remainder concentrated in Australia, Canada, and Europe.

They found that people admit to breaking the rules of the road at roughly the same (very high) rate, regardless of how they’re getting around.

Route 711 will be widened to relieve congestion in Powhatan and Chesterfield counties

A contract totaling $11.7 million was awarded to E.J. Wade Construction, LLC of Mechanicsville to widen and improve Route 711 at the Route 288 interchange in VDOT’s Richmond District.

Improvements will include taking Route 711 from two to four lanes for a 1.14-mile stretch at the Route 288 interchange on the Powhatan/Chesterfield county line, and replacing the bridge over Bernard’s Creek. Bike lanes and sidewalks will also be added.

The project is expected to be complete by June 2019.

Structurally deficient bridges on Interstate 395 will be repaired

A $5.5 million contract was awarded to Martins Construction Corp. of Falls Church to repair structurally deficient* bridges spanning Four Mile Run on I-395 in VDOT’s Northern Virginia District.

The project will include reconstructing deck joints, replacement of bearings, repainting the steel superstructure, and repair of concrete and foundation of the bridges, which were constructed in 1970.

The project is expected to be complete in November 2018.

* A bridge that has been deemed structurally deficient does not imply that it’s likely to collapse or is unsafe. But there are elements of the bridge that need to be monitored and/or repaired.

Pavement restoration will be completed on Interstate 85 in the Richmond District

Two contracts have been awarded for work on I-85 in Brunswick, Mecklenburg and Dinwiddie counties.

A contract in the amount of $7.9 million was awarded to Allen Myers VA, Inc. to restore pavement for a 24 mile stretch from the North Carolina state line to the Meherrin River Bridge.

A $7.3 million contract for pavement restoration was awarded to Adams Construction Company of Roanoke. The work will be done from about a mile north of Route 40 to just south of Route 1.

For both projects, restoration will include pavement repair, installing new drains and guardrail replacement.

Pavement maintenance is planned in the Northern Virginia, Bristol and Culpeper districts

In the Northern Virginia District, two contracts totaling $14.1 million were awarded to Superior Paving Corporation of Gainesville, for paving in Fairfax County.

A $5.2 million contract was awarded to Virginia Paving Co., a division of The Lane Construction Corp., of Cheshire, Conn. for paving in Fairfax County.

A $6.2 million contract was awarded to Arthur Construction Co. Inc., of Dulles for paving in Fairfax County.

A $7.1 million contract was awarded to Virginia Paving Co., a division of The Lane Construction Corp., of Cheshire, Conn. for paving in Arlington County.

A $6.5 million contract was awarded to W-L Construction & Paving, Inc. of Chilhowie for paving in Buchanan County in VDOT’s Bristol District.

A contract in the amount of $5.3 million was awarded to Superior Paving Corporation of Gainesville for paving in Rappahannock County in VDOT’s Culpeper District.

The following chart tracks the dollar amount of major contracts the CTB has awarded in calendar year 2017:

In advance of each CTB meeting, VDOT Commissioner Charles Kilpatrick also approves contracts up to $5 million in value. From the February 22, 2017 bid letting, the commissioner approved 61 contracts worth an approximate total of $111 million for construction and maintenance projects on Virginia’s interstates and primary and secondary roads.

Appointed by the governor, the 17-member CTB establishes the administrative policies for Virginia's transportation system. The CTB allocates highway funding to specific projects, locates routes and provides funding for airports, seaports and public transportation. The board normally meets on the third Wednesday of the month in months when action meetings are scheduled.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

RICHMOND − The public is invited to share comments on transportation projects that have been scored and recommended for funding through Virginia’s data-driven, prioritization process. This process was used to score over 400 transportation projects proposed by localities and regional planning bodies across the state. The scoring is a key part of a law, referred to as SMART SCALE, to facilitate investment of limited tax dollars in the right transportation projects. The public is also invited to share comments on other non-SMART SCALE projects as well as new projects valued in excess of $25 million.

Following the public meetings listed below, public comments will be considered by the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) as it develops the FY 2018-2023 Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP). The SYIP allocates public funds to highway, road, bridge, rail, bicycle, pedestrian and public transportation projects. The CTB will select the final list of scored as well as approved projects to be included in the SYIP. All federally eligible projects in the six-year improvement program will be included in the federally required Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) to document how Virginia will obligate its federal funds.

The meetings begin at 5:30 p.m. in each of the locations except as noted below (a formal comment period will be held at each meeting):

Law requires projects to be scored based on how they ease congestion; improve economic development, accessibility to jobs, safety and environmental quality; and, support transportation-efficient land use. Projects in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads score higher if they reduce congestion. Projects in other parts of the state score higher if they increase economic development, or improve safety. The Commonwealth held numerous sessions with localities to incorporate their input in developing the scoring system.

Projects meet scoring requirements if they are eligible for funding under the High Priority Projects Program and the District Grant Program. In addition, projects must demonstrate that they meet a need identified in the Commonwealth’s long-range plan, VTrans2040, which examines Corridors of Statewide Significance, regional networks and improvements to promote urban development areas. The CTB must consider highway, transit, rail, road operational improvements and transportation demand projects, including vanpooling and ridesharing.

Projects funded with federal safety dollars, and projects that rehabilitate aging pavements and bridges are exempted from scoring.

Once projects are scored and public input is received, the CTB will select projects to be funded and included in the six-year improvement program by July 1, 2017.